EDINBURG — Hidalgo County reported 835 more cases of the coronavirus Monday, along with five deaths tied to it, as Gov. Greg Abbott issued familiar protocols in response to the rapid rise of COVID-19 activity in the state.
Abbott announced Monday that the state would be taking steps to address the rise in cases, among them bringing medical personnel from out of state to Texas healthcare facilities and a letter to the Texas Hospital Association requesting hospitals to — once again — voluntarily postpone elective medical procedures.
A news release from the governor’s office also said he’s directed state agencies to open additional COVID-19 antibody infusion centers, which are designed to treat patients suffering from the coronavirus who don’t need hospitalization.
“These infusion centers will treat COVID-19 patients who do not need hospitalization with therapeutic drugs that can prevent their condition from worsening and requiring hospital care,” the release read. “These centers also help increase bed capacity in hospitals so that resources are available for the most ill patients.”
The governor also said he directed state efforts to increase vaccination availability and offer mobile vaccine units, and encouraged residents to sign up for shots.
“The State of Texas is taking action to combat the recent rise in COVID-19 cases and ensure that our hospitals and communities have the resources and support they need to mitigate the virus,” Abbott wrote. “Texans can help bolster our efforts by getting vaccinated against COVID-19. The COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective, and it is our best defense against this virus. Texans can visit covidvaccine.texas.gov to find a COVID-19 vaccine provider near them.”
Monday’s numbers appear to continue an upward trend that has local leaders battening down the hatches for another wave of pandemic patients.
The last time the county announced five deaths in a single report was May 12. The last time it announced more than 700 cases in a single report was March 16.
The cases reported Monday amounted to a handful more than the cases reported in the last seven reports of June combined.
Death rates and hospitalization rates are rising across the nation. Hospitals are once again reporting staffing shortages, and the World Health Organization is tracking over a dozen COVID-19 variants that have made the Greek alphabet sound fearsome.
Despite all that, Hidalgo County Health and Human Services Chief Administrative Officer Eddie Olivarez said at a news conference Thursday that residents should be focused on one thing above all: getting the shot.
“Everyone is fixated on the variant. Don’t fixate on that. Fixate on getting vaccinated,” he said. “You don’t want to get a variant, you don’t want to get COVID, or you want to lessen the chance of you being in the hospital? Go get a vaccine, get fully vaccinated. The vaccine works against the variants and lessens the symptoms of COVID, and discourages the chances of a person going into the hospital.”
There were 342 COVID-19 patients in the Hidalgo County hospitals Monday, the county announced, 70 of them in intensive care units. The number of patients hospitalized is up by 12 from Friday’s report and the number of intensive care unit patients is up by seven.
Monday’s deaths included residents from Donna, Edinburg, McAllen and Mission who ranged in age from their 40s to over 70, three of them men and two women.
They bring the total number of fatalities to 2,963.
Out of the 835 new cases, 262 were reported as confirmed and 573 as probable, bringing the county to a total of 101,434 cases, 63,749 of them confirmed, 35,417 probable and 2,268 suspected.
Cameron County also announced new COVID-19 data Monday, adding 420 new cases of the virus and four related deaths.
The total number of cases there stands at 41,754, and the county’s death toll is now at 1,723.
